Sewage, Santa Barbara Style

When in Rome, or in this California-based case, more like the Roman territories, Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior, one should do as the HCs or HUs do. And this being a sewer blog, of course, one should look to sewer history as "doing" as the Romans did, sewage-style. This involves a lot of marble and trenches with sluices of water, as Romans imported their culture everywhere they went and this meant better toilets for Hispania Citerior or Hispania Ulterior. Not too sure if the Roman influence stuck by the time the Spaniards claimed California though.

Check this out:
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/romeancientrome/ig/Ancient-Rome/Latrine-in-Roman-Spain.htm

There was a marble counter in our hotel bathroom here in Santa Barbara, so there is still a thin slice of Roman style here today. Decent water-flushing toilets being a thicker slice, I would say. 

So, sewer-wise, what exactly is there here in Santa Barbara? El Estero! Watch this video!
http://santabarbara.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=300

(Watch the "Stinky Tank" in action!)

A very kid-friendly video can be found at this link, but it is much more detailed than the first video. I learned a ton! But the music was....way too peppy to be sewer music.
http://santabarbara.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=79

Want to know where this plant is? Take a look on a map:

The address is 520 East Yanonali Street.

Here is the home page for the sewage stuff:
http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/pw/resources/wastewater/estero.asp

Take a photo tour!
http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/pw/resources/wastewater/esterophoto.asp

The plant was within walking distance from our hotel (sadly, no time for a visual) and even closer to the swank Fess Parker Doubletree Resort. Both hotels are across the street from the beach.

What I did have time for was a photo across an ocean inlet of the exterior of the zoo, which is kept green with recycled water from the treatment plant.

Something's Fishy with Salmon

Tom Salmon had a Letter to the Editor published in the Tribune the other day. He is thumping on the LOCSD for issuing the water conservation measures (that were recently posted on their website and voted on at their August 7 meeting). Read their news release on their website.

"Too little to late" he accuses, then proceeds to slam them for not demanding that they sternly tell the County that they can't put the water he speaks of in the bay.

Read Salmon's letter here:
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2014/08/18/3200944/too-little-too-late.html?sp=/99/181/182/

Salmon speaks of "treatable water." Treatable by who? Stored and put where? Could that have been done? Sure, but at what cost to the sewer project, and more to the point, what delays? Yes, delays, while the project ground to a halt to sort out where to put that water.

Actually, the LOCSD had very little that it could say about that water that he refers to—water sucked out of the ground from the sewer project trenching. Most of it was used at Tri-W—oops, the Mid-Town site—and for the water trucks to spray for dust suppression, and yes, some of it went into the bay! The LOCSD had even less ability as to what it could do with the water.

Offer it to the the avocado farmers in Morro Bay! Put it in at Broderson! Clean up the water and....well, I'm not sure what came after that. It not like there were a bunch of tanks to store it in. Or that people that could be lined up with buckets. Who would pay for the clean-up? The sewer project? The LOCSD?

He thinks that because the LOCSD is part of the groundwater basin adjudication, that they could somehow mount a lawsuit from inside of that—on the almost completed ruling (this thing has been going on for YEARS). How shortsighted that would be? Put years of work to actually manage the basin in jeopardy. The LOCSD is not the only entity in that lawsuit either - the County is a player, Golden State Water and S & T Mutual Water are in this as well.

He seems to be unaware that the District is emerging from bankruptcy. Money is tight and ANY monies not pledged elsewhere must go to water conservation where is is not happening fully yet, at the household level.

Three hundred thousand to one million gallons of water flows into the bay naturally, DAILY, from springs, seeps and an upper aquifer overfilled form septic tank outflow.

Naturally, the Water Board was bombarded with the sewer detractor's angst and asked the County what was gong on?

Here in .jpg form is the County's response (click on the image to see a larger size). Read where the water went and why:

You can also read my response letter in the Tribune to Salmon's unfair accusations:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2014/08/19/3202157/litigation-expensive.html?sp=/99/181/182/

Need a New Career?

It's common these days to have two or more careers in the course of a working lifetime. Maybe you are sick of your job? Since this is a sewer blog, and since you are reading this, and IF you need a career change, how about becoming a Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator?

Read about it here!

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/water-and-wastewater-treatment-plant-and-system-operators.htm

http://www.cwea.org/crj_new_howstart_becomeoper.shtml

http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/operator_certification/oit_info.shtml

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/operator_certification/docs/ocr_table.pdf

Sewer Levels Explained and Dissed

I am intrigued by things digital, but somehow never got into gaming, yet anyway.  However, it appears that gamers have gone heavily into sewer scenes in their games (I recall writing  on Ninja Turtles some time back) and of late, there has been some backlash to these "sewer levels" (as they are called).

First, let's define what we are talking about here:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AbsurdlySpaciousSewer

Now for the anti-sewer level rant:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/07/28/neon-struct-first-person-stealth-eldritch/#comments

Be sure to click on the entertaining comments below the Readers' Digest ad for "27 Foods You Should Never Buy Again," and its accompanying photo of cheese—hard cheese, say like Asiago or Ragusano or a Grana Padano. (Which, if you click on the link in the last paragraph of the article called "15-tonne lump of fat and filth" actually, kinda makes sense.) Not that I have anything against cheese in moderation. I just hope this link is still there when you get to this article and that it hasn't been replaced by an ad more tailored to your interests in case it does not happen to be dissing cheese.

I know, I am straying far from Los Osos. But frankly, the sewer news around here has been rather thin of late. A good thing, I think. We really ought to expand our horizons beyond the conveyance of bodily wastes.

It Couldn't Happen Here....

....this is a drainage tunnel, we have nothing like this here, nor are we likely to ever have anything "drainage" of this magnitude, but take a look at this sewer art by Judith Supines in Queens!!

http://www.supertouchart.com/2014/08/01/street-life-judith-supines-sewer-sculpture-in-nyc/

Project Update June 2014

The County just posted the latest update on the LOWWP! Click the link to read the latest info!! The photos are amazing!!!

xhttp://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/PM+Monthly+Update+Jun2014.pdf

Today and Tomorrow at the Water Board...

The perpetual Closed Session item:

4.    Los Osos CSD v. Central Coast Water Board (San Luis Obispo County Case No. CV 060146 (TSO 00-131)

Perhaps, in 2016, when we are flushing and forgetting, the plant busy cleaning up the foul waters and ghastly solids that we are sending to it, this item will come off of the Water Board's agenda.....

I wonder how much they actually talk about this?

Meanwhile, in noodling around on things sewer, I came across the word, "sanitarian." If you are interested, you can read about it here:

http://www.neha.org/credential/

Staging Area - Forlorn!

It looks so empty now. The staging area, once filled with piles of green pipes and tons of equipment is scraped and barren.

Lazy Sewer Reporting

Yes, this should have been posted last Friday. Oh well. Here it is now:

I attended LOCAC on Thursday, July 24, 2014. Sewer stuff was discussed when questions were asked of our District 2 Supervisor, Bruce Gibson. (Q and As below are paraphrased.)

Question: Has there been any movement on converting our septics to cisterns for rain water?

Supe BG: It is a permitting issue. County Planner Kerry Brown may work on consolidating the permitting process to one permit and one inspection. The County will try to make it as low cost as possible, maybe even free. Planning and Public Works are in discussion on this right now.

Question: Some people have already put in their laterals but they are not connected. What happens next?

Supe BG: It will need to be videoed. We are discouraging the "over achievers" on doing this now. There will be a massive outreach and a place to drop in to talk about what to do, or you can come to South Bay Community Center weekly or bi-weekly.

Part of Mr. Gibson's report to LOCAC was that ARB has substantially completed their part of the trenching. Their punch list is now under 50. Public Works, in addition to finalizing the remedial treatment for the battered streets, says the actual work will wait until the warranty period on the trench work has expired. That way, if any problems with the trench work arise, they will be under ARB's warranty and ARB will need to fix those problems. The treatment plant is under construction and no issues have arisen there (according to John Waddell, Project Manager).

Also mentioned was financing for laterals. It will likely be a low-interest loan or grants. There are three or four different programs being looked at for an income-tested basis. This might start mid-2015.

There was an interesting discussion on pot-growing here in Los Osos, but that was not sewer-related, so won't be reported here. (You should have been there!)

The Streets of Los Osos

I attended Bruce Gibson's office hours today at Sea Pines and the topic of street restoration came up. Yes, restoration is upcoming early next year! All of the streets are being evaluated now as to what type of restoration they will get, slurry seal all the way to a new lift of asphalt, and that assessment will be finished later this year. The County's road fund and the project will both contribute funds to this project.

Yayyyy-y-y-y-y!!!

San Francisco's Sewage

What is a trip to San Francisco without wastewater reporting when you have a sewer blog? I kept hoping for at least a manhole cover to show you as I was walking along the streets downtown. But all I saw without getting run over in traffic was PG & E manhole covers. Most disappointing.

I had better luck on the sewer front as we were driving out of town to go home. On the Great Highway, there are two sewage-related buildings. First I saw a Pump Station—the Westside Pump Station. Here is a shot of it by Ben Niehaus. I was driving, bummer, no shot for me! His has better weather than mine would have had however.

Next, just beyond this, was the Oceanside Treatment Plant! What a bonanza, yet I had to drive right past them both! Bummer!

So I googled them when I got home. Here is a great article by Mark Lukach, “Poop Parade: Behind the Scenes of the Oceanside Treatment Plant.”

http://oceanbeachbulletin.com/2011/07/11/the-poop-parade-behind-the-scenes-of-the-oceanside-treatment-plant/

You might want to get an overview of San Francisco’s entire sewage picture, so I have provided some fun links.

San Francisco Sewer System Master Plan as of 2010:

http://www.sfwater.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=723

Appendix H of said plan (CSD stands for “Combined Sewer Discharge - sewer and storm waters):

http://sfwater.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=664

Appendix I of that plan - S.F. Pump stations:

http://sfwater.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=661

Westside Pump Station map:

http://wikimapia.org/4124921/Westside-Pump-Station

Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant map:

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=37.747440&lon=-122.499619&z=14&m=b&show=/1771029/Oceanside-Water-Pollution-Control-Plant

But even cooler is this map, that shows both plants, plus a whole lot more:

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=37.734807&lon=-122.506485&z=19&m=b

Art, apparently at the Westside Pump Station!

http://www.artandarchitecture-sf.com/earth-air-sea.html

Coolest of all are the TOURS!!! Access the information off this link:

http://sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=95

I will try to better coordinate my next trip north.

Major Metropolitan Street Potty

San Francisco! Wish I'd had the time to go in to see what it was like!

The Art of........

What was Rodin thinking? 

Art, especially GREAT art, is subject to interpretation. 

Click image for larger size.

Electric Trench

Today, on Paso Robles, between 17th and 18th Streets, a trench was dug for an electrical connection for the pump station.

Above is the trench, below is the West Paso Pump Station on the Walker property, Walker Ditch being off to the left, past the "No Idling" sign.

If you want to know more about pump stations, check out the links below!

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/Design+Division/300448.08.01.PS.2A.pdf

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/Design+Division/300448.08.01.PS.1A.pdf

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/PW/LOWWP/DOCS/Current_Documents/300448_08_01_PS.htm

Stuck in Denver

The next 8 hours will be spent here in Denver. At the airport. So instead of whining about the missed flight, I may as well make lemonade out of lemons. Or clean water out of sewage, a better analogy for this blog. 

Denver sewage appears to be so complicated that it is opaque. Not much info on the main sewage collection area. However, the Metro Area Water Reclamation District is building a new facility and they had a web page with the public meeting materials. I thought - hey, let's see how many hundreds of links there would be for that sewer! Here is the link so you can see too:

http://www.metrowastewater.com/know/NTP/Pages/communitymeeting.aspx

Three. They have three. And the sewer will be built in 2016! What's wrong with these people!!!!! Don't they know that they can delay these things for decades and pay millions more? They should hire someone from Los Osos to show them how this is REALLY done.

Anyway, if you want to see the Denver page for what looks to be the main city and county stuff, here it is:

www.denvergov.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.denvergov.org/wastewatermanagement

So little drama, such a pity.

Omaha Sewer Facts!

Omaha has a sewer service population of 600,000 and has a sewer system that handles raw sewage, a combo of sewage and storm water, and one for storm water alone, the last of which does not concern us here! Apparently that combo sewer can cause problems, so those combo sewer lines are getting scheduled to be replaced by two separate pipes, one for sewage and one for storm water.

Oddly, I ran into an example of that at the Lauritzen Gardens, the city's botanical garden. Read the text on the signs below this group picture (click image for the large size). Combo sewer really are on their way out. 

I suspect these green pipes are sewer-related air intakes for the sewer piping below in the street in downtown Omaha, but could not find confirmation anywhere.

Now, of much more interest is this place, the Harney Street Force Main Building:

It is right on the banks of the Missouri River. Just stumbled on it by accident because since I was in Omaha, I had to see the Missouri River. And there this sewage-related thing was. It took forever to find anything online on this place. But I did find this document (I was too stingy to pay for anything but the cheapo hotel internet connection, so maybe your download to view won't be as awful as mine was):

http://bidding.oscarrenda.com/misc.%20projects/Omaha,%20NE/South%20Interceptor/Supplemental/2008%2008%2015%20-%20Emergency%20Response%20Plan%20To%20Address%20a%20Failure%20of%20the%20South%20Interceptor%20Force%20Main.pdf

Sewage spill possibilities and remedies are outlined. This is a city that has flooded before. It is next to a major river. The photos of pump stations and levees are at the end.

There just doesn't seem to be that much on Omaha's sanitation system, a large old city. It has less historical sewer stuff than Los Osos by far. Here is what I found more generally:

http://www.cityofomaha.org/pw/index.php/residents2/sewer/sewer-system

http://omahacso.com/files/4013/6604/9848/OmahaLTCP_Executive_Summary.pdf

And there are these three plants:

Missouri River Wastewater Treatment Plant:

http://www.cityofomaha.org/pw/index.php/residents2/sewer/missouri-river-wastewater-treatment-plant

http://omahacso.com/projects/moriverwwtp

http://www.cityofomaha.org/pw/index.php/residents2/sewer/sewer-insepections-and-studies

http://www.omaha.com/news/a-less-smelly-south-omaha-new-system-is-aimed-at/article_b9b55e16-009c-565f-af6a-552a6344fa02.html

Papillion Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant:

http://www.cityofomaha.org/pw/index.php/residents2/sewer/papillion-creek-wastewater-treatment-plant

Elkhorn Wastewater Treatment Plant: - couldn't find zip on it, maybe this is why:

http://dataomaha.com/salaries/omaha/plant-ops-elkhorn

Too dinky.

However, if in need, Omaha can give you some sewer back-up help:

Backwater Prevention Assistance Program 

The City of Omaha Backwater Prevention Assistance Program is one of the City of Omaha's solutions to minimize sewer backups in homes and businesses situated in combined sewer neighborhoods that are not immediately scheduled for a sewer separation under the City of Omaha CSO Control Program. If eligible, a "Backwater Valve" will be installed by a licensed plumber in the home/business to prevent future wet-weather related basement back-ups. For more information, call (402) 444-5332 and indicate that you are inquiring about the City of Omaha's Backwater Prevention Assistance Program.

Amazing how much sewage-related stuff one can find roaming around a city without even looking for it!

Candy Gone So Very, Very Wrong,

Toilet plunger sour apple candy. Eeeeuuuuuuu-u-uu-u-u-u-u-u!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdogWWkL6tI

Toilet candy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKbldTkeLsE

Flush & Forget at 39,000 Feet!

It was a lovely day up in the air. And I was sitting there looking at clouds. I would show you on this post, but the file is too large to embed here on blogger, so here is the link to myYouTube video.:

http://youtu.be/_8VQmGS07Iw

Then I had the idea to video a different sort of flush-and-forget—not the kind we will have in out own abodes in 2016, but a more fluid and vacuumy one, one that is alive and in action during the time and space continuum of flight! Plus, there is a really unnatural blue hue involved in the water doing the flushing; toilet bowl cleaner on steroids, more or less. I will not describe the aroma of that here.

The toilet seemed to take an awfully long time to flush too. Not water wise, but non-discriminatory, given that it didn't know the content. Maybe these toilets will eventually evolve into the dual flush model found in politically correct airports in drought areas.

http://youtu.be/ZAHxOy5-mpk

Fortunately, most of the time none of this stuff exits the plane while in the air. However, I have been on a plane when there was just one flush too many, and that little room was tagged with an off limits sign.

You can visit this page below to get a good description as to where the outgo goes, and where it sometimes goes accidentally, plus some other airborne sewage history! Note the words "blue ice."

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/02/long_island_couple_pelted_with_poo_where_do_airplanes_dump_their_waste_.html

More fun facts too off of this link!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_lavatory

Sewer Opposites Battle on Tribune

The County's sewer project is humming right along, but as with anything sewer in Los Osos, or in this case, tangentially sewer, the dissing by the project's detractors never ends. I always try to correct sewer mis-information wherever I find it. See the link below:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2014/07/07/3142907/slo-mulls-rules-for-well-on-prado.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_689822584426292_689964614412089_689964614412089#f1f12101d

The Honeymooners

Most of you are too young to know about a TV show that played last century in the mid-50s. Sad to say, I recall this show well and not from Hulu or something. 

I was there sitting cross-legged in T-shirt, shrug and my pedal-pushers in front of that large wooden box standing on legs with a curved glass screen set in the front of it that only displayed a sometimes fuzzy black and white image, depending on the weather.  A 1/2" wide flat, brown cable snaked out from the back of the set through a hole in the exterior wall up to the antenna anchored to the roof. This is what brought the picture into the house from the TV waves zipping through the L.A. smog. 

The Honeymooners was one of many great shows in semi-early TV and Ed Norton was ranked number 20 on a list of 50 of all time best TV characters by TV Guide in 1999.

I only bring all of this up because one of the characters,  Ed Norton (played by Art Carney) was a sewer worker (for 17 years) and he had some pretty memorable quotes, which can be found on this link.

http://www.sewerhistory.org/misc/honey.htm

The show ran from October 1, 1955 to September 22. 1956. Ed worked in the New York Sewer Department and said that he was, "Sub-supervisor in the sub-division of the department of sub-terranian sanitation, I just keep things moving along."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY_q_dlOCDU

Take a look. Ed gets fired from his sewer job!

In STEP With The Supremes!

No, STEP-ing with SCOTUS—not dancing with the musical group The Supremes, although that would be fun! Hey! Everyone has to deal with a sewer in their lives it appears, not just the residents of the Prohibition Zone in Los Osos!

Here is just the first page to the document found at the link below:

I was noodling around the Internet on my phone, bored, waiting for some appointment or other, and I found a case in 2012 that was a sewer question actually decided by the U.S. Supreme Court! Naturally, it was a sewer funding fight based on equal protections to taxpayers! On June 4, 2012, the Supremes ruled in favor of the city of Indianapolis and against 31 Northern Estates residents.

Indianapolis was requiring that the people in this neighborhood abandon their septic tanks and hook up to a sewer that had a line now going by their properties. There were two sorts of payment plans when the project began; you could pay the entire $9,278 up front or you could pay incremental amounts over 30, 20 years, or 10 years.

In any case, the city changed its method of funding (from the Barrett Law*) to one called STEP, the Septic Tank Elimination Program, which financed projects like this partially by selling bonds, which lowered the cost to the individual to hook up to the sewer. This also came with much less administrative work, where monthly payments as low as $25 would drag on for as long as 30 years. Those who paid the sewer assessment in full would not be getting a refund, as opposed to those who paid as little as $309.57, whose debt for the rest was forgiven. Unfair!

The city's argument of administrative convenience and cost, trumped the homeowner's claim of unfairness. The Supreme Court explained that there needed to only be a plausible policy reason to agree with the city.

Read further:

http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/20125832.htm

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-161.pdf

It would seem that the Supreme Court does not have the tools to get down into the weeds of local government. The city spent about $200,000 to defend itself (cheap by Los Osos lawsuit standards!) and I could not find how much the neighborhood spent in taking this to the Supremes. It was probably just a whole lot cheaper just to eat the $9, 278, instead of paying that amount, PLUS the legal costs. But logic does not apply to emotion-filled grievances here in Los Osos or, apparently, in Indianapolis either! And gambling seems to be an inborn response in hopes of better outcomes.

* Indiana's Barrett Law - the total cost of a project is divided up equally among those receiving the benefits.

Sewer Featured in Flick

Went to the Palm Theater in SLO last Sunday to see a special screening of a FILM (to be differentiated from a movie).

The Last Wave (Black Rain, U.S. title) was released in 1977 and was directed by Peter Weir. I won't spoil the plot if you haven't seen it (it IS well worth seeing, a short review can be found at this link). However, this being a sewer blog, this must be reported! A sewer in Sydney, Australia, gets featured as a gateway to a subterranean otherworldly place. The capture below simply does not do it justice, it's a pretty cool sewer. See it for yourself!

If you have Hulu Plus, you can watch it here:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/237124
Watch the trailer there, but a better version is here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004D4Q9CW/ref=atv_feed_catalog?tag=imdb-amazonvideo-20

May 2014 Project Update!

Here is a link to the latest project update! Great progress!! Click this LINK to read the report!

On 16th! Some Action!

Sewer-wise, it has been dullsville of late. Until it is time to hook-up to the pipes coming out of our houses to the pipes to the treatment plant out of town, there is not much to amuse or ponder. The pipes are in the street and the generator and pump station buildings are going up quietly. You can't see anything of the treatment plant from the road.

However, two days ago, a truck with three men rolled up to the manhole down the street. The cover was pried off, then the man in the white hazmat outfit reached down inside, smoothing some edges or other and adding some tape. They were all very nice and explained that they were sealing the manhole covers. I must say, the inside was as sparkly white as Jonah Hill's fake teeth in "Wolf of Wall Street!" That can't last, expect the Austin Powers look of ghastly dentition after a few seasons, but it is a nice way to start!

Sewage Treatment from 10,000 Feet

This photo taken while flying over Phoenix a couple of days ago will never replace Google Earth's. The windows of the jet looked like they had been cleaned with Brillo pads inside and out. I don't have a great camera, and the angle from window to treatment plant was just plain wrong. However, when you write a sewer blog, you are happy to have found fresh grist for the mill, or perhaps more precisely, not-so-fresh excretia in a traditional treatment mode.

Please employ the far better rendition off of Google Earth to get the true feel of this, where you can zoom down to gaze into the frothing currents of the aeration tanks! Fortunately, the resolution isn't so great that you can identify anything untoward in the clarifiers (the solid bundles probably didn't make it through the screening process intact anyway). The address to input into Google Earth for a better view is: 5615 South 91st Avenue, Tolleson, AZ.

There are two other treatment plants for Phoenix for which you can also Google Earth!

• 23rd Avenue - use these latitude and longitude coordinates for fun instead of an address:

33.424727, -112.111138

• Cave Creek - 22841 North Cave Creek Road
, Phoenix, AZ

For a little background of likely useless information:

• The wastewater system includes two city-owned wastewater plants (a third is not), almost 5,000 miles of sewer mains and 78,000 manholes.

• More than 250 million gallons of wastewater is treated each day, servicing about 2.5 million customers (just think, in 2016 we too will become "customers," not depositors into septic tanks!)

• More than 90 percent of Phoenix’s wastewater is highly treated and reused for crops, power generation and turf irrigation.

• Phoenix uses cameras and high tech equipment to clean grease, roots and other debris from about a third of its sewer lines each year.

• Numerous award-winning videos and public service announcements have been produced featuring actor Leslie Nielsen.

• The City of Phoenix Water Services Department is more than 100 years old.

• Phoenix, Arizona is the nation’s fifth largest city, encompassing about 540 square miles.

• There are about 30 sewage lift stations (don't they know for sure???).

For an interesting read on Maricopa County, the existing and planned wastewater treatment facilities, go peruse this pdf!

http://www.azmag.gov/documents/pdf/cms.resource/wastewater-treatment.pdf

For some fun photos of googled term "city Phoenix wastewater treatment plant" (although a nuclear power plant in Michigan found its way in this collection), visit:

http://www.google.com/search?q=city+phoenix+wastewater+treatment+plant&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=lG6uU4-gEcr9oASGh4DICA&ved=0CBsQsAQ4Cg&biw=1439&bih=679

Toilet Book for Tots

Relatives with a humorous bent gifted me with a delightful book which I am very happy to plug on my blog. It's right on topic here! After all, what is the use of a sewer for Los Osos if there are no toilets? Do many of us even know how a toilet works?

I would hope that people with children would buy a copy, and depending on their age, read them the whole story, or have them read you the story! I am showing you only a sampling here. The book employs some humor, but thankfully avoids what is considered "bathroom humor." Actually, adults could learn a lot here too.

The title is Toilet How It Works, and the author is David Macaulay. It runs 32 pages plus cover. It is for kids in Reading Level 4. Both septic tanks and conventional waste treatment are nicely illustrated. Perhaps some in this town will lobby Mr. Macaulay to write in STEP and Vacuum systems for the next edition!  Hey, how about composting toilets? He could illustrate cleaning one out for the kiddies! We should always be inclusively politically correct, should we not?

You will want to see the large and fun drawing of intestines that precedes the smaller set in the photo below!

There are some very cute bacteria commenting on pages 17 and 26!

There is a nifty sludge press illustrated on page 25.

Perhaps Mr. Macaulay can in a future book illustrate the political fight in Los Osos over sewer technologies! It seems that Reading Level 4 is about the right speed to make this battle understandable to the world outside Los Osos. It might clarify some things for insiders too.

California State Water Board Announcement on Septics, Etc.

Those on septic tanks (or in the case of Los Osos, those remaining on septics after the PZ sewer system starts up) might want to review this. For example,

Septic tanks shall be pumped when any one of the following conditions exists:

i. The combined thickness of sludge and scum exceeds one-third of the tank depth of the first compartment.

ii. The scum layer is within 3 inches of the outlet device.

iii. The sludge layer is within 8 inches of the outlet device.

Seriously, do YOU KNOW where your sludge layer is?

 

This is a message from the State Water Resources 

Control Board.

Notice - The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) will hold a public meeting on September 23, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. to receive public comments on proposed General Waste Discharge Requirements for Discharges to Land by Small Domestic Wastewater Treatment Systems (General Order) and an associated California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Initial Study/Negative Declaration (Negative Declaration).  The proposed General Order and Draft Initial Study/Negative Declaration have been posted on June 20, 2014 and is available at:http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/land_disposal/waste_discharge_requirements.shtml

For more information and any questions, please contact Timothy O’Brien at (916) 341-6904 ortobrien@waterboards.ca.gov.

SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS

The State Water Board will accept both written and oral comments on the proposed General Order and Initial Study/Negative Declaration.  Written comments must be received by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on July 25, 2014.

Tybee Island: Small # of Peeps With A Large Sewage Savvy

Unlike Los Osos, Tybee island, permanent population 3,067 (2012 census) has had a sewer, since at least 1972. For 42 years the groundwater has not had to deal with the problem that Los Osos has, nitrate contamination from septic tanks, which has caused over-pumping of Los Osos' lower aquifer because the upper aquifer has been too contaminated to drink since the 1970s. Our upper aquifer is now overfull from septic tank discharge and the excess water leaches into the bay.

So, where does Tybee Island's water supply come from?

"Although Tybee Island currently has a good supply of fresh groundwater, there is a potential for saltwater to enter the Upper Floridan aquifer, which is the principal source of fresh water in coastal Georgia..."

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3120#.U6Xf5ChOsy4

Like Los Osos' water supply, Tybee Island's water comes from below the town. However, due to a sewer system, nitrate contamination from septic tanks is not a problem. Maybe we would not have a water supply problem either if we hadn't been so careless with our sewage.

More on Tybee's water from USGS:

"The U.S. Geological Survey designed and installed the innovative system that uses satellite telemetry to monitor groundwater levels and salinity daily. Tybee Island is the most seaward municipality in the Savannah area and is vulnerable to groundwater contamination from seawater.  This new system will serve as an early warning indicator of saltwater encroachment toward public supply wells."

“'This state-of-the-art monitoring system is extremely important because it provides an early warning to protect our supply wells," said Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman. "With this information, we can effectively plan a response to possible contamination problems,' he added."

"These real-time-monitoring wells are part of a larger network of wells that the USGS annually samples for chloride concentration to determine relative movement of saltwater in the Upper Floridan aquifer in the Savannah, Georgia area. The wells are part of a statewide groundwater level monitoring network funded by the USGS and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. The City of Tybee Island provided funding to upgrade the wells to enable real time monitoring of groundwater levels and salinity."

Pretty cool Georgia!

In our case, our water supply will be directly tied to the reuse of our treated wastewater. It is hopeful that we will pay closer attention to the saltwater intrusion problem that we have now once the Basin Plan kicks in, and that in 30 or so years, when the water we will be returning to the lower aquifer starts to halt the intrusion (starting in 2016), we will be thankful that we got a sewer when we did. 

Better late than later..............

Obi-Won Kenobi vs. the Obstructionists Wielding Cocktail "Swords"

WHEREAS, Paavo has advanced the work of the Department and has demonstrated high level of wisdom among staff earning the nickname “Obi-Won Kenobi” of Public Works...*

Soon-to-retire Director of Public Works Paavo Ogren, was honored at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 for his 23 years of service to the County of San Luis Obispo. You can view the meeting off this link (the part you want is after 1:30 PM, skip past the sewer teeth-gnashers at Public Comment):

http://slocounty.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1789

Staff was not the only beneficiary of the Obi-Won Kenobi effect. There was no contest really, between Master Kenobi and the people who pretended to want a sewer but didn't really, who did everything they could think of to block one—and—Los Osos is actually getting a sewer. It is due to arrive in 2016, the hard part of pipes in the street already having been completed. Paavo was always three steps ahead, giving the appearance of being four steps behind, a tactic that worked phenomenally well.

Here is my take:

You get the drift. So do the sewer opponents. In recognition of this fact, they symbolically bash their chests, tear out their their hair and issue high-pitched knells of sewer grief weekly at the Board of Supervisors. None of which will change one little bit the fact that Los Osos is getting the sewer it picked out among the choices presented by the County and finessed into fruition by Paavo Ogren, SLO County's Obi-Won Kenobi. Paavo will long be remembered at various levels of government, by contractors of sewer projects across the nation and especially by the majority of the citizens of Los Osos who are happy at long last to be getting 21st century sanitation.

Thanks Paavo! We will never forget you and wish you the best in Oceano.

• See the complete Resolution off this link:

http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/3478/UGFhdm8gUmVzb2x1dGlvbiBKdW5lIDIwMTQucGRm/12/n/29581.doc

A Slice of Savannah Sewage

I'm traveling and I'll admit the car was going pretty fast, but here is a shot of Savannah, Georgia's President Street Water Quality Control Facility Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant!

You might want to read further on this topic by visiting the engineering company'a page on this facility's website (Savannah's info on this plant is slender):

http://www.hgbd.com/portfolio/president-street-water-quality-control-facility-secondary-wastewater-treatment-plant/

Savannah has four water reclamation plants; the one above processes 40 million gallons per day.

You might want to read a brief description of Savanna's "sewer modeling" off of this link:

http://www.savannahga.gov/index.aspx?NID=727

The facility above is open for tours for schools and some corporations. I am bummed that I am in neither category!

Bart Simpson Blocking Sewer in Belfast

Go take a look!

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-27840723